Tubular winding core



Dec. 26, 1950 D. o. BECKNER TUBULAR WINDING cons 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 File dMay 4, 1948 I maven/7m".- Zonald afleccner Patented Dec. 26, 1950 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE TUBULAR WINDING CORE Donald 0. Beckne SouthLancaster, Mass.

Application May 4, 1948, Serial No. 24,943

A 11 Claims.

all This invention relates to tubular winding cores including bobbins,spools, cop tubes and the like employed in the textile and otherindustries in tormlng packages of yarn, thread, twine or other cordage.It aims to provide for such purpose a relativelylight weight yet sturdyand otherwise improved device molded in whole or part of plasticmaterial.

In the drawings illustrating by way of exam" 7 pie one embodiment of theinvention:

Fig. l is a sideelevation of an exemplary core, tube or winding unitcompletely assembled;

Fig. 1A is an enlarged fragmentary section taken lengthwise through thewall of the core body and through a numher of the hubs or pimpics at theouter face.

Fig. 2 is an inside plan of a cap or head oi the tube;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the head end of the core;

Fig. 4 is a similar section or" the base portion;

Fig. 5 is a cross-section at an intermediate portion of the core;

' Hg. 6 is a. bottom plan view;

Fig. 6A is an enlarged detail section on the line 6A-6A of Fig. 6; and

Fig. "'l is an exploded perspective view of the component parts of thedevice of Fig. Ii.

In accordance with the invention the winding core, package tube or thelike, is novelly designed tor molding from a synthetic resin or otherplastic material. To that end and also for the purposes of repair andreplacement each tubular core is formed of a plurality of initiallyseparate parts constructed and arranged for interrltting and mechanicalinterlocking as an integrated assembly unit such as that of Fig. l. Theseveral parts herein comprise the main tubular body, stem or shell illitself formed by a pair of substantially duplicate mating sections ll,ii, best seen in Fig. 7, also Fig. 5, together with a base or bottomdisc 10 and a head, tip or cap 50.

The two body sections H,: l I! may beidentically formed and when Joineddefine a unitary symmetrical tubular element. Corresponding parts of thetwosections accordingly are given the same reference numeral with theaddition of a prime mark for one of them. These winding cores generallyare conical, tapering upward, and

the illustrative unit of the drawings is so shown.

The invention is also applicable to tubular cores generally, includingnon-tapered and other forms.

The two sections |l,-l I each comprise a halfround shell with planaredge faces l2, I! along the longitudinal side walls l3, l3" adapted toseat flatwlse against each other when the sections are interfltted, seeFig. 5. Th edge portions of the side walls are of a thickness,preferably somewhat greater than for the remaining wall portions, toafford substantial width for the edge faces I2, l2 and to insure firmabutted engagement for the two sections. For positively interlocking thetwo halves one has integrallyformed along the side walls l3 andupstanding from the fiat faces l2 thereof elongated fins l5 receivablewith a tight fit in coniormant recesses 96 in the opposite halt section.Other interengageable aligningand retaining formations desirably areprovided at other edge locations as for example near the base Where lhave shown on one half section a number of locating pins ll upstandingfrom the side Walls. 'lthe other tube section is correspondingly formedwith seating recesses it, id for such pins. For molding purposes it ispro ferable that the protuberances such as the fins and pins ll becarried on one shell section, with the corresponding receiving recessesit, ill on the other section, but they may be otherwise disposed ashetween the two sections includingarrangements in which the two arefully identical.

For minimum weight major wall areas of the shell body ill may be ofreduced thickness as compared with that of the side wall portions l3,it. Added strength and rigidity for such thinner wall portions may hehad by internal reinforcing means. Accordingly the respective sectionsH, M are shown formed internally with integral longitudinal ribs,corrugations or the like 29, and with a plurality of transverse orcircumferential internal ribs or beads 2|. Three of the latter areindicated respectively near the opposite ends and at an intermediatelocation along the tube. Dne Or more of these internal circumferentlalformations 2! may be placed at the transverse plane of the externalannular chan nels 22 which may optionally .be provided at crossover andother circumferential zones of the package mass according to preferredwinding practice.

As an important feature of the invention special structure externally oithe core is provided for holding cooperation with the woundeon mass ofyarn, thread and the like. The winding gen- This istrue especially withwound materials which readily limpen, distend or the like on loss ofmoisture content, for example those with a jute, hemp and various otherfibre contents.

Accordingly, noting particularly Figs. 1 and 1A, major areas of theouter surface of the core or tube body I at the wind-receiving zone areknurled, milled, roughened or otherwise accorded a slip-resistingnon-smooth formation 23, shown at typical locations on Fig. 1. Merelyfor drafting economy and general clarity the crosslining indicative ofthe anti-slip formation 23 is in substantial part omitted on Fig. 1 andentirely so on other figures. This characteristic roughening 23 inpractice is generally applied over all or a major portion of thewind-receiving zone.

In combination with the surface modification 23 or alternatively theretothe winding area or selected portions of it has formed thereon amultiplicity of small protuberances, nubbins, short prongs orpimple-like formations 24.

,Noting Fig. 1A, these projective members 24 are shown as pointed andsubstantially conical. They may be of any conformation, preferably ofoutwardly decreasing cross section, adapting them to be impressed intoand between parts of the wound-on cordage, yarn, thread or the likewithout objectionably mutilating it. These protrusions 24 may bedistributed more or less uniformly over the winding area or areas in anypreferred pattern, desirably with offsetting in adjacent lines or rowsaxially, circumferentially or both. The pattern density may be variedaxially of the core as for example sparser intermediately and morecrowded toward the core ends. The individual nubbins or pimples 24 areintegrally formed of the self-material of the core body ID the plasticmolding of which is found specially suited for the purpose, ascontrasted with previous wooden cores on which any such integral pointedsmall projections are impractical from a manufacturing standpoint; metalinserts such as pin points also are regarded as unfeasible and wouldtend unduly to increase the weight as well as manufacturing cost. Inperformance of firm retention of the wound-on mass the cores or tubeshaving the novel combined surface structure of the invention have provenhighly successful. What is said above with regard to the distribution ofthe knurling or roughening 23 applies also to the pimpling 24.

The core or tube ID of the invention is adapted for mounting on aspindle or like rotary support having one or more step bearings.Accordingly it is formed with bearing or guide means including a mainsupport at the lower end, herein on the bottom disc 40 to be described,and an upper guide or bearing formation provided partly by the head 50.Usually also, particularly for the longer bobbins and tubes the mountingspindle has an intermediate radial or step bearing.

Accordingly as here each tube section I I, II' is integrally molded witha transverse web 25 in a plane perpendicular to the tube axis. Each web25 has a central half-round aperture 26 the wall of which is downwardlyflared at 2'! adapting the mated web sections to seat on theconformantly tapered step bearing of the spindle. The webs 25 themselvesserve as cross reinforcements for the tube as a whole. Furtherstrengthening and rigidity for the webs and for the tube body desirablyis provided as by a plurality of angular bracket-like struts 28integrally molded with the respective half sections and angularlyjoining the under face of the corresponding cross web 25 and the mainbody wall below it. For different spindles one or more additionalintermediate bearings such as 25 may be provided.

For cooperation with the base 4.0 and head 50 the tube body sections II,II terminate at the opposite ends in a bottom rim 30 and a top rim 3!.The basal rim or flange 30 extends up to a shoulder 32 the under face ofwhich is adapted to abut the base 40 when installed. Above the shoulder32 the outer wall of the tube has an approximately quarter round annularconcavity for junction with a similar formation at the top of the base4|], the two annular groove portions together defining a channel similarto the circumferential channels 22 previously mentioned.

Similarly at the head end of the tube sections the top rim 3i extendsdown to a horizontal shoulder 33 for abutment with the under edgeportion of the head 50, the adjacent portions of the head and of thetube body being grooved to present a relatively narrow annular channel22a between them, see Fig. 1. A similar channel 22b may be formed at theouter surface of the tube sections below the head juncture channel 22a.

The base or bottom disc 40, seen in section in Fig. 4, in bottom plan inFig. 6 and interiorly in Fig. 7, is an integrally molded element ofgenerally cup-like form. It has a central vertical aperture 4| the wallof which is upwardly flared at the upper end as at 42 for end thrustengagement with a corresponding formation on the bearing spindle; seeFig. '7. This base or bottom disc 40 includes a lower end portion 43 ofreduced diameter and preferably rounded at the peripheral edge, foraccurate seating in a. corresponding vertical recess on the bottomflange or step bearing of the spindle. Above the reduced end part 43 isa rim member 44 of a diameter to telescope over and lock together themated bottom rims 30, 30 of the tube halves and having within the outerwall a circumferential channel 45 with a horizontal bottom wall and aninner annular wall 46 concentric with the outer wall. As best seen inFig. 4 this channel 45 is dimensioned to receive the mated lower rims30, 30' of the tube sections l I, II' and securely lock them together inabutted position.

The interior of the base 40 may be hollow or cup formed save for agenerally radial rib formation 41 and a transverse or chordal rib 48 atapproximately right angles to each other. The radial rib 41 providesreinforcement and also a solid portion into which there is extended fromthe bottom face of the base 40 a recess 41a preferably of non-roundsection, see Fig. 6, adapted to receive a conformant vertical pin on thespindle, for preventing relative turning between the latter and thebobbin or core in as a whole. The chordal rib 48 in addition toreinforcing the base 40 provides a carrier wall for the thread holdingformation or so-called tagend slot 49, Figs. 1, 4 and 6.

This tag-end holder comprises a chordal slot extending fully across thebasal part 43 and having a substantially uniform depth throu hout.Centrally it opens as at 49a, Figs. 4 and 6, into the bottom aperture 4!so that a portion of the inserted tag-end is there exposed andaccessible to the operator's finger, insuring that the proper end isselected in subsequently preparing the package for use. In accordancewith the invention this tag-end slot 48 is novelly formed with an inwardtaper or wedge formation, best seen in Fig. 6A. also Figs. 1 and 4. Bythus relatively inclining the side walls of the slot it is givencapacity for firm frictional gripping with different sizes of threads,yarns and strands over a considerable range, as indicated by the dottedcircles in Fig. 6A. Thus any size of strand within the range may havethe tag endlaid along and drawn down snugly into the wedging slot 49where it will ,be firmly engaged between the appropriate portions of theinclined side walls of the slot. Such simplified wedge or clampingformation would be extremely difllcult if not commercially impossible toproduce in a wooden core base since the requisite narrowness of the slotsubstantially prohibits angular sawing. The use of a molded plasticcomposition under the invention now for the first time makes feasiblesuch taper formation for this tag-end slot 49.

The head or cap 50 seen in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and '7 comprises an integrallymolded annular element with somewhat rounded upper margin as at El andhaving an outer skirt 52 adapted to flt over and interlock the laterallyabutted upper ends of the two core sections H, ll. The head fur ther hasan inner skirt or vertical flange 53 defining between it and the innerwall of the skirt 52 a channel 54 in which the tube sections arereceived and further securely interlocked. The inner wall of the insideskirt 53 defines a circumferential bearing aperture 55 for the upper endof the longer spindles. It is particularly noted that the inner wall ofeach main tube section II, M is formed at the upper end just below therim si, ti with an internal shoulder or arcuate flange 3'5, 35' whichtogether provide a partispherical bearing surface adapted to seat on anylike hearing member at or near the tip of the spindle. Thus end thrustat the head of the tube or core is received directly by the tube bodyitself rather than by the head piece 50.

From the foregoing description of the component parts the manner ofassembly will be readily understood, noting particularly Figs. 1 and 7and comparing the other views. The two halves ii, ii for the body iiiare set together, in which operation they are easily guided intoaccurate mating relation both by the longitudinal fins 65 andcorresponding recesses it and by the locating pins ii and pin seats it.These locating pins avoid any radial or other displacemerit of the widerend portions of the tube sections where any tendency to spring is morelikely to be found than at the narrower and accordingly more rigid end.Additional locating .pins may be supplied wherever found expedient.

Upon assembly of the body sections the base 40 and head 50 are readilyapplied over the bottom and top rim portions 30, 30 and 3|, 3|respectively, and pushed home. The rims enter the corresponding annularchannels 65 and 54,

and the inner edges of the base 40 and the head,

50 abut the corresponding body shoulders 32, 32 and 33. 33,respectively.

By reason of the disclosed mechanically interlocking relation of thebody, base and head parts they become in effect a structuralunit,.particularly with reference to the major lines of forceto whichthe core is subject in use, namely-centrifugal force attendant on thewinding or unwinding operations. The annular end members and theinterlocking thereof to the body sections adequately resists suchforces. Therefore it is unnecessary to rely on cement or other joiningscarcely discernible if at all.

agent to do mechanical holding against operating stresses. In actualpractice the abutting surfaces of the component parts are momentarilydipped in or brushed with a solvent of the constituent plastic material,e. g. acetone in the case of a cellulose acetate composition. The partsthen being immediately assembled become selfunited or joint-fused into asubstantially homogeneous whole upon which juncture lines are Usuallylittle or no buillng or other finishing is needed.

It will be noted that the internally projective ribs, webs, struts,flanges, pins and the like stand in planes substantially perpendicularto a plane tangential to the outer surface of the respective tubesection II, I! along the longitudinal center line thereof, so enablingthe parts readily to be ejected from the mold rectilinearly in thedirection of said perpendicular planes. This applies also to any desiredadditional lengthwise, crosswise or intermediate reinforcing flanges,webs and like elements of the grid-like structure at the inner walls ofthe tube sections.

An important advantage of the molded plastic tubular core of theinvention is the marked reduction in over-all weight as compared withprior wooden and other like devices of similar size. Due in part to theselected material itself but more especially to the substantialreduction inmass and the enlarged cavities and free spaces within thecore in accordance with the invention, the total weight of the core isreduced by about half, as contrasted with corresponding turned wooddevices. For example a typical 10 in. conical tubular bobbin of about 2%in. and 1 in. outer diameter at the large and small ends respectivelyweighs but about 8 oz. as against about 16 oz. for the usual woodenbobbin of the same size. The value in this connection will beappreciated when it is considered that a winding mill ships out bobbinsand cores in the yarn,

thread or like packages and subsequently receives back the emptybobbins, generally at the mills expense, for re-use. Many thousands ofthese devices are shipped and re-shipped in the course of a. year. Onewinding mill estimates that its annual freight poundage for packages andbobbins will be reduced by at least one-million pounds through adoptionof plastic molded bobbins of the present invention.

My invention is not limited to the particular embodiment thereofillustrated and described herein, and I set forth its scope in myfollowing claims.

1. A tubular winding core for packaging textile strands, cordage and thelike comprising a plurality of component parts individually integrallymolded of plastic material and including two semi-round trough-like halfsections defining in mated opposition a conical tubular shell havingreduced longitudinal terminal rims at the opposite ends, and annularbase and head members of outer diameter respectively conforming them tothe shell outer circumference at the correthe transverse portion anannular channel with parallel cylindrical lateral walls of a diameterand radialspacing for direct telescoping enclosure and rigidinterlocking reception of the correspending shell terminal rimsabuttively inserted therein.

2. In a molded tubular core for wound textile, cordage and likepackages, a pair of opposed half-round hollow shell sections havingthickened longitudinal edge portions with planar transverse faces matingto form a tubular body, reinforcing ribs extending lengthwise andtransversely at the inner faces of the body sections, semi-circularlongitudinal terminal flanges on each section, annular disk-like baseand head wall members formed with central coaxial terminal sleevebearings for the core and having at the inner transverse faces betweenthe bearings and the outer circumference of said members annularU-sectlon channels for interlocking reception of the terminal flanges ofthe mated shell sections in intimate bonding contact with the inner,outer and end faces of said flanges, and interengaging pro- Jections andrecesses distributed along said transverse faces of the longitudinaledge portions of the body sections for mutually locating and retainingthem against displacement in the plane of juncture of the sections.

3. A tubular winding core molded of plastic material and comprising amain body and centrally apertured base and head portions formed withcentral axially aligned tubular bearing surfaces for a spindle, majorareas of the windreceiving outer face of the core body having an overallroughening for primary direct external engagement with the innermostturns of a winding mass and said roughened areas having distributed inpatterned density thereover a multiplicity of point formationsprojecting radially substantially beyond the roughening and adapted topenetrate into and between such innermost winding turns for secondaryanti-slip holding engagement with other winding turns.

4. A molded plastic annular end member for a tubular winding core,comprising a centrally apertured circular body defining a transverse endwall and integral radially spaced vertical outer and inner flanges inplanes paralleling the core axis and presenting between them an annularchannel seat providing end positioning and lateral abutment internallyand externally for the terminal rim of a conformant tubular core body,said inner flange being substantially spaced radially from the margin ofthe central aperture and said body having formed therewith a coaxialbearing sleeve in prolongation of the cylindrical wall of said centralaperture.

5. A molded plastic winding core including a tubular body and centrallyapertured base member defining a transverse bottom wall for the core,the base member having a tag-end holding formation comprising a chordalslot extending up from the outer face of the bottom wall and fullyacross the latter, the slot being tangential to the central aperture andlaterally open thereto and the side walls of the slot having a relativetaper from a major width at the outer face of the bottom wall foroperative holding engagement with tag-ends of wound-on material ofdifferent diameters.

6. An assembled tubular winding core tapering from end to end andcomprising mated halfround hollow body sections, a base at the largerend and a head at the smaller end, said sections, base and head eachintegrally molded of plastic material, the.base and the head havinginternal inwardly opening concentric annular channels with radiallyopposed cylindrical lateral walls and the shell sectionshavinglongitudinal terminal flanges respectively seating in the channelsin contactive engagement with both lateral walls thereof whereby thecore body is mechanically interlocked and held against windingoperational stresses, spindle-receiving sleeve bearings coaxially formedon the base and the head in radially inwardly spaced relation to saidchannels, and each shell section having at the head end an internalcircumferential and partispherical shoulder merging inwardly andupwardly toward the inner end of the sleeve hearing surface forend-thrust receiving and spindle guiding purposes.

7. An assembled tubular conical winding core wholly formed of partsindividually molded of a plastic composition and interlocked andsolvently fused together into an integral structural unit, said partsconsisting of two mating half-round elongated trough-like body sections,a cap piece at the smaller end and a base piece at the larger end, saidend pieces having central axially aligned bearing formations for aspindle and internal concentric grooves adjacent the peripheries forinsertive seating over the ends of the mated body sections, the lattereach having in laterally opposed relation at anintermediate zone aninternal transverse wall abutting each other in the diametral plane ofjuncture of the body sections and each having a semi-circular recesstogether defining an intermediate ring bearing formation for a spindle.

8. An assembled plastic molded winding core according to claim 7 whereinthe intermediate bearing-forming wall of each body section has at eachlateral portion a bracket-like strut angular to the core axis andinclining inwardly and upwardly toward the bearing formation inspindle-entering relation thereto, said struts providing further lateralabuttive engagement in the juncture plane of the body sections.

9. In a winding core for textile, cordage and like wound strandpackages, a tubular body onto which the package of strands is to bewound, said body being of molded plastic composition, axially spacedexternal circumferential channels on the core body opposing bodily axialshifting of the package mass, a non-smooth slip-resisting surfaceformation at major areas of the wind-receiving outer face of the corebody between said circum ferential channels, and a multiplicity ofstrandengaging pimples distributed in patterned density over substantialportions of said non-smoothsurfaced areas.

10. In a winding core for textile, cordage and like wound strandpackages, a tubular body onto which the package of strands is to bewound, said body being of molded plastic composition, axially spacedexternal circumferential channels on the core body opposing bodily axialshifting of the package mass, and a multiplicity of strand-engagingpimples distributed in patterned density over selected substantial areasof the outer face of the core body between said circumferentialchannels.

11. A tubular conical winding core molded of a plastic composition,comprising a tubular body tapering between a relatively small head and arelatively large base, external circumferential channels at axiallyspaced levels along the body and corresponding circumferential annularinward projections internally of the body, a spindle bearing centrallydisposed at the head end of the body, a transverse web at anintermediate position within the body and centrally apertured forreception on a spindle step bearing, and a separately molded base pieceproviding a bottom 9 end wall generally conrormant to the base of thecore body, said base piece being centrally apertured and having at theinner face or the end wall and around said aperture a spindle-receimngsleeve bearing coaxial with said head and intermediate bearings, andsaid base piece further having a circumferential vertical flange tortelescoping assembly of the base piece with the ad- Jacent end of thecore body.

DONALD O. BECKNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

Num' er 10 Number 10 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date McConneZet a1. June14, 1932 Park Aug. 29, 1933 Muller June 27, 1939 Jordan Dec. 17, 1940Hence May 5, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Jan. 12,1928 Great Britain Aug. 26, 1935 France July 31. 1939

